Most of the time, we harvest STEM cells from patient’s adipose tissues. Major source of this is abdominal wall fat. Small liposuction procedure is performed and fat cells (adipose cells) are collected and then these fat cells go through different processes and finally STEM cells are obtained. Usually about 30 million or more STEM cells are harvested. Patient’s blood is also collected to obtain PRP (platelet rich plasma). Both PRP and STEM cells are mixed together since PRP activates STEM cells. Patient is given a local anesthetic such as lidocaine in the scalp. Once patients scalp is anesthetized, STEM cells and PRP combination is injected into the scalp. Entire procedure takes about 2 hours and is usually well tolerated by most of the patients. Patient may notice some swelling the following day but this may not be the case with everyone.
It has been recommended to do 3 additional PRP sessions every two weeks followed by this STEM cells therapy. In most case, patient usually starts to see improvement is 3 to 6 months.